Taking too many antibiotics could damage your liver and raise your risk of developing type 2 diabetes, new studies have warned.

 

A new study published in Gastroenterology, an official journal of the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) Institute says antibiotics are the single largest class of agents that cause idiosyncratic drug-induced liver injury (DILI). DILI is the most common cause of death from acute liver failure and it is caused by a wide variety of prescription and non-prescription medications, nutritional supplements and herbal drugs.

 

“DILI is a serious health problem that impacts patients, physicians, government regulators and the pharmaceutical industry,” said Naga P. Chalasani, MD, of the Indiana University School of Medicine and lead author of the study.

 

Supporting this claim, Medicinet, an online health journal cited a popular antibiotic Augumentin saying it can cause cholestasis, a liver condition that occur when the excretion of bile, a fluid that helps the body process fat from the liver is interrupted, with or without hepatitis.

 

“Augmentin-induced cholestasis is uncommon, but has been implicated in hundreds of cases of clinically apparent acute liver injury. Symptoms of cholestasis (jaundice, nausea, itching) usually occur 1-6 weeks after starting Augmentin, but the onset of liver disease can occur weeks after stopping Augmentin. Most patients recover fully in weeks to months after stopping the medication, but rare cases of liver failure, cirrhosis, and liver transplantation have been reported. Other antibiotics have been reported to cause liver disease. Some examples include minocycline (an antibiotic related to tetracycline), and Cotrimoxazole (a combination of sulfamethoxazole and trimethoprim)”, it says.

 

In a similar development, another research showed a clear link between antibiotics and diabetes. The researchers, whose findings are published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, tracked 1.3 million Danish people without diabetes and 170,404 with the disease.

 

The study found that people who received five or more antibiotic prescriptions over a period of up to 15 years were associated with a 53 per cent increase in risk of developing type 2 diabetes, compared with those given antibiotics just once, or never.

 

The researchers discovered that while antibiotics are designed to kill the bacteria that cause infections, the drugs also kill off some of the good bacteria in the gut, which are known to influence digestion and metabolism.

 

 

The authors of the new study suspect that this is the reason for the link between antibiotics and diabetes, with alterations in gut bacteria meaning people absorb sugar and fat in different ways.

 

But an alternative explanation it says, could be that people with as-yet undiagnosed diabetes may be more prone to infection, and therefore use more antibiotics.

 

Study author Dr Kristian Mikkelsen, from Gentofte Hospital in Hellerup, Denmark, said: ‘In our research, we found people who have type 2 diabetes used significantly more antibiotics up to 15 years prior to diagnosis compared to healthy controls. “Although we cannot infer causality from this study, the findings raise the possibility that antibiotics could raise the risk of type 2 diabetes. An alternative explanation could be that people with as-yet undiagnosed diabetes may be more prone to infection

 

“Another equally compelling explanation may be that people develop type 2 diabetes over the course of years and face a greater risk of infection during that time.”

 

The experts suggest that doctors who repeatedly over-prescribe the drugs should be sanctioned.

 

Meanwhile, here in Nigeria, a specialist in hepatology, gastroenterology and endoscopy, Dr. Aderemi Oluyemi, warns that numerous activities can jeopardise the liver, leading to damages that are sometimes irreversible unless the patient goes for liver transplantation – an extreme and expensive procedure that is not available in the country. One of these include use of over-the-counter medications such as drugs used to treat epilepsy (anticonvulsants), cholesterol-lowering drugs (statins), acetaminophen (painkillers) and isotretinoin (used to treat severe acne).

 

According to an endocrinologist/Medical Director, Rainbow Specialist Medical Centre, Lekki Phase 1, Dr. Afokoghene Isiavwe, people who are diabetic are more likely to develop liver damage than people with normal blood sugar level.

 

“More than people probably realise, diabetes has terrible effects on the liver. That is why I recommend that every diabetic has a blood test and ultrasound to check on the health of their liver annually,” she advises.

 

She adds that the closer you are to a healthy body weight, and the closer to normal your blood sugar level is, the better your liver’s health.

 

By: FRANKA OSAKWE

National Mirror